Boeing bags biggest order with $21.7bn Lion Air deal
Baku, November 18 (AZERTAC). Boeing has bagged its biggest commercial order after signing a deal worth $21.7bn (£14bn) with Indonesian airline Lion Air.
Indonesia`s largest private carrier has placed an order for 230 short-haul 737 planes.
The deal includes an option for another 150 aircraft worth an estimated $14bn.
It comes just days after Boeing announced a deal to sell 50 of its 777 jets to Emirates Airlines for a list price of $18bn.
The US planemaker said the Lion Air order, when finalised, would be its largest ever "by both dollar volume and total number of airplanes".
The robust growth of Asian economies in recent years has seen the rise of a more affluent middle class in the region.
With higher disposable incomes, consumers have been spending more and there has been an increased demand for air travel in the region.
Analysts said the huge order by Lion Air was an indication that the region will be the main driver of growth in the coming years.
"Something has changed in the past 20 years," said Randy Tinseth, vice president of marketing for Boeing commercial airplanes.
"In 1990, 72% of demand was from Europe and the Americas. Now it is closer to 50% [and] in 2030 it will be only 40%," he added.
Boeing has also signed a pact to sell eight 777-300ER aircraft to Singapore Airlines in a deal worth $2.4bn.
General Electric Co has entered an agreement with Indonesia`s Garuda Airlines to supply 50 engines for $1.3bn.